Knitted gloves are commonly used in handling and light assembly conditions. Knitted gloves of the prior art used for these purposes have been made using flat knitting machines that use a number of needles in the form of a needle array and a single yarn to knit the gloves using eight basic components to comprise the glove. These eight components include one component for each of the four fingers and thumb, two components for the palm including an upper section and a lower section, and one component for the wrist area. All of these sections according to the prior art are cylinders or conical sections that join to each other, fashioning the general anatomical shape of a hand. Conventional knitting processes use a knitting machine to knit each of these areas in a particular sequence, generally one finger at a time, beginning with the pinky finger and continuing on through the ring finger and middle finger to the forefinger. After one finger component is knitted using only selected needles in the needle array, the knitting process for this finger component is stopped and yarn is cut and bound. The knitted finger component is held by holders, weighted down by sinkers. Each remaining finger component is then knitted sequentially one at a time, each using a different set of needles in the needle array. After the four fingers are knitted in this fashion, the knitting machine then knits the upper section of the palm, picking stitches from each of the previously knit four fingers. The method of knitting individual fingers and picking stitches to knit the upper palm selection with better fitting crotches that are well fitted is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,080 by Maeda, et al. After knitting an appropriate length of the upper palm, the thumb component is initiated using a separate set of needles in the needle array. Then the lower section of the palm is knit using all the needles in the needle array. Finally, the knitting machine knits the wrist component to the desired length.
The knitting stitches used at the fingertips are generally tighter than the stitches used elsewhere in the glove to improve the strength of the glove in this area where more pressure is likely to be applied. Depending on the size of the needles used and the denier of the yarn to knit the gloves, a certain number of courses are used to create each of the eight components of the glove. The finer the gauge of needle used, the higher the number of courses for each component to create the same size of a finished glove. Changing needles or the denier of a yarn is extremely difficult in a continuous process and generally a continuous yarn of pre-selected denier and a corresponding needle size is commercially used. While this standardization in needle size and number of courses permits the manufacturing of a glove or liner with a standard shape, that shape does not accommodate variations in size and shape of individual fingers and hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,284,032 to Shima discloses stitch control mechanism for a flat knitting machine. A stitch control mechanism is applicable for a flat knitting machine and controls loop size in a knit fabric. A spiral cam plate is attached to one surface of a stitch control cam. The spiral cam plate is held between a pair of cam rollers, and the pair of cam rollers is supported on a guide plate. The stitch cam has a portion slidably fitted in a guide slot formed in a base plate. The stitch dimension or loop size is controlled by the stitch control cam and can be changed by a computer program. This patent discloses the hardware necessary for stitch dimension control and does not disclose a knitted glove or liner with anatomic features providing improved fit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,733 to Rock et al discloses plaited double-knit fabric. The composite fabric of terry construction includes an inner fabric layer made of a yarn comprising a plurality of hydrophilic treated polyester fibers and an outer fabric layer made of the same hydrophilic treated polyester fibers. The inner fabric layer and outer fabric layer are formed concurrently by a plaited knit construction so that the layers are distinct, yet integrated with one another. The textile fabric rapidly removes moisture from the skin of the user. This plaited double-knit fabric is tightly woven with the outer fabric layer that integrates with the inner fabric layer creating a double-knit article with limited stretchability.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,965,223 to Andrews et al discloses layered composite high performance fabric. The composite layered protective fabric has an outer primary layer composed of an abrasive material and an inner primary layer composed of an inherently cut-resistant material positioned below the outer primary layer. The inner layer, when assembled into a garment, is positioned proximate to the wearer's skin. A secondary layer may be added to the inner and outer layer framework and is composed of a material that provides additional protection against potential threats other than cuts, that increases comfort or that improves aesthetics. The composite fabric is continuously manufactured in a one-step process, which plates the primary abrasive and cut resistant yarn layers. The presence of multiple yarns tightly knitted together creates a knitted article that is stiff and does not accommodate complex shapes such as a glove. Every portion of the fabric thus formed is composed of the outer primary layer and the inner primary layer and no stretchable portions are provided within the fabric.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,084 to Andrews et al. discloses protective glove articles made of a continuously knit composite fabric. According to Andrews, these protective articles provide an unprecedented level of safety and comfort and are made of two or more dissimilar yarns including thermoplastics, elastomers, or metals forming primary, secondary and tertiary regions. The secondary region covers the thumb and palm and has superior cut resistance compared to the primary region which covers the finger stalls. The tertiary region covers the wrist portion and its cut resistance is between that of the primary and secondary regions. All the regions of the glove contain the cut resistant fibers and contain one or more fibers. The regions are not knitted with any stretchability and use of two yarns provides a tightly knitted fabric presenting a glove which has a tight uncomfortable feel. The protective article uses dissimilar fibers at selected protective fabric locations and does not aim to conform to the anatomical shape of a hand using a single yarn or multiple yarns.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,285 to Nishitani discloses yarn feeding apparatus. This apparatus minimizes fluctuation in tension of a knitting yarn and an accurate length of the knitting yarn is fed even if the amount of demand for the knitting yarn is suddenly changed. A knitting yarn is interposed between a main roller and a driven roller with yarn storage having a buffer rod, the angular inclination of which controls the storage. An angle sensor detects this angular inclination and uses a PID algorithm to predict the amount of knitting yarn demanded. The PID algorithm controls a servo-motor that drives the driven roller such that the tip portion of the buffer rod is brought to its original position at start of knitting. This device minimizes the fluctuations in knitting yarn tension due to sudden demand and is not programmed to alter the knitting yarn tension in order to adjust stitch dimensions.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,782,720, 6,782,721, and 6,823,699 to Vero et al. disclose unilayer fabric garment with reinforcing parts. A previously knit unilayer textile fabric is inserted with a heavier denier fiber at preselected areas of the fabric by a computer program. The inserted fiber is selected from the group consisting of S-glass fibers, E-glass fibers, steel filaments, carbon fibers, boron fibers, aluminum fibers, zirconium-silica fibers, aluminum-silica fibers, and mixtures thereof. The fabric article may be a garment or a glove providing the user with protection from abrasion cuts and punctures. The inserted fibers are high elastic modulus stiff fibers and presence of two fibers in a given region of a garment or glove compromises the flexibility at that location. Gloves with this reinforcement method are stiff and do not readily conform to the anatomy of user's hands.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,864 to Hardee, et al. discloses a knitted glove. This knitted glove is made by creating eight glove components having at least fifteen separate knitted sections altogether on a knitting machine. The glove includes five finger components made from at least two separately knitted sections for each finger component, two palm components, each of which is made from at least two separately knitted sections, and a wrist component made from at least one knitted section. Each component comprises a different stitch setup producing variable stitch dimensions and number of courses whereupon the glove has an overall shape that accommodates variations in size and shape of individual fingers and hands. The entire glove is knit with a single yarn and therefore does not have cut resistant properties or other property enhancements possible by using multiple yarns in different glove components.
Standard shape gloves or liners created by the prior art processes bring with them several disadvantages. First, the fit across finger knuckles and the center of the palm is tight, reducing glove or liner flexibility and ultimately reducing hand dexterity. Second, the standard gloves or liners tend to bag or gap in areas where the hand normally tapers; like the lower palm and wrist area; the excess fabric in the baggy areas can bunch and catch on protruding objects. Additionally, excess fabric at the lower palm created by the standard glove or liner shape causes an irregular foam line on those liners that are dipped in latex. Finally, the excess fabric at the lower palm of the standard glove or liner causes a high scrap rate in printing information on the gloves or liners. The problem is more severe when more than one fiber is used at any glove location resulting in a tighter, less flexible knit that does not provide a comfortable fit on the hand of the user.
In an attempt to solve these problems, knit gloves or liners can be made larger than standard size and shrunk by tumbling them in heat or using a laundry process to achieve a better fit. These processes as used on the larger gloves, however, may produce gloves that have improved fit across the knuckles, but do not address the excess fabric in areas where the hand normally tapers, like the lower palm and wrist, since the shrinkage is uniform across the glove.
Additionally, tumbling or a laundry process would require an additional manufacturing step as well as additional labor, both of which would increase the cost of the finished product. A standard tumbling process, using constant heat and time, would also fail to create the desired gloves and liners because of differences in thermal patterns in the tumbler and the heat sensitivity of fibers selected to knit the gloves and liners in a manufacturing operation. Further, these types of post-knitting processes would require additional development and manufacturing time to determine appropriate time and heat combinations to optimize the production of a particular glove or liner.
A glove with a selective second fiber, which may be cut resistant or of a different color that could be made to fit the contours of a human hand and that would not require post-knitting processing would therefore be an important improvement in the art.